


SECRETS

by Mei_Jasmine



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 01:59:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16053080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mei_Jasmine/pseuds/Mei_Jasmine
Summary: Four souls, one city. This story focuses on the group who called themselves the "Grizzco Boys".Join them as they learn deeper about their lives, as well as what secrets lie deeper in their boss' threshold. Who, or what is Mr. Grizz, really? How did they all meet? What memories lie forgotten, awaiting to be remembered once more?





	1. Daily Life, New Face!

**Chapter 1: Daily Life, New Face!**

 

This is Inkopolis. As you can probably tell from its name alone, it's a vibrant, colourful, inky city full of Inklings...

 

... Inklings like me.  
  
  


 

 

My name is Blaze! Actually? My real name is Aelius, but nobody really calls me that except for the elders of my family. I am currently employed in my family business. My family business? A convenience store. My grandfather started this business decades ago... it was during the massive damage of the Great Turf War; he saw that many citizens had a great need to find a safe place to eat in, and stay in, as homes and towns were in ruin.

 

He decided to make a small store where people could buy their food and stay while things were awry. It was from a makeshift janitor's closet, hidden from plain view, but not hard for the common people to find. People admired him, thanking him for his generous and kind heart. Years flew by, and now, we finally see what the years had done to his business! From a simple business in a janitor's closet, to a convenience store!

 

Sometimes we ask him why he didn't think of turning his business into a hotel, but he told us he didn't want to feel like a servant in his own house.

 

After all, we did live on the second and third floors of our establishment. The first floor was dedicated to our convenience store. At least we still get some privacy with this kind of business!

 

I sigh, remembering how Grandpa got so successful with his life. Maybe I should try to do the same with my life too... but everytime my family sees me, I feel like their eyes are silently, but intensely, judging me. I sigh again, as I look into the mirror to examine myself. Now I remember. I was in the bathroom to try and freshen up before I went back to work to stock our shelves.  
  
  


 

I stared into the mirror, my droopy magenta eyes gazing into my own. My red... vermillion hair, as my best friend once corrected me, was tied into a ponytail as a lock of tentacle flowed down half of my face. My arms... were full of scars, and my ear piercings were in place. People said I looked scary... huh, maybe I should... start not wearing black so much?

 

I stretched and went back out to sort the shelves. Everything seems to be in order...

 

The floor stretched enough for at least twenty people to be comfortable walking around the shelves. There were at least ten shelves, stocked with different products we purchased from our suppliers. I gazed to my right, and I see some young people eating our specialty "Kariman", a type of snack with assorted flavoured filling in a breadlike pocket, deep-fried to a breaded golden brown perfection.

 

It is filled with any flavour you could think of... some ordered chocolate, some ordered blueberry, but still some order tuna and cheese, or chicken!

 

I sighed seeing the youth enjoy their snacks. They must have come from their Turf Wars from the nearby lobby; but some looked like they came from school! Looking at them takes me back to my years as a teenager.

 

...

 

Wait, no. Don't take me back there.

 

I shook my head and tried to do away with my nostalgic trip. It wasn't really the prettiest and... I don't think I really want to think about any of that now. I gazed back at the counter to see the digital clock hanging behind it, along with some charms like a statue of Judd and Little Judd with waving paws that we considered were good luck for the business.

 

...

 

Oh, my shift was over! I guess it's time for me to go to my other shift.

 

I am currently employed in two establishments, you see! I'm employed in my family business, but I'm also employed in Grizzco.

 

Yes, Grizzco. My family initially disapproved of it, especially my Grandfather, but I think that by working there, I could find some extra income to help around the home. I do have an extensive family, after all. For starters, I have a mom, a dad, and four other siblings. I'm the second-born! My older brother works overseas as an accomplished businessman. My younger sister immediately after me was working as an accountant, and the youngest of our family, our twins, were both studying. The "younger" twin was good in sports, and the "older" was good in academics.

 

Some of our relatives also live with us, while some live far away. I have a lot of cousins! And aunts and uncles. Most of them are accomplished, or a little... "normal", as depicted in our society, and some are already married with children! I am a godfather to many little squid kids.

 

You could imagine what kind of judging I get back at home from the elders of my family, urging me why I can't be like my siblings. It's depressing, but I'd like to think that I'm doing good on my own. As someone in my late twenties, I'd like to think that being the only one in my family to learn InkSL is a good thing.

 

InkSL is Inkling Sign Language. Believe me when I tell you that I have encountered many deaf-mute Inklings in our store that I had a good time chatting with. They share such good jokes, I couldn't help but laugh during working hours listening to their stories before they had to go back and tend to their daily lives!

 

I sigh, thinking about all that. I wish my family would just accept me, for once. But... I guess they could tell that I'm trying my best to redeem myself from who I used to be. And remembering who I used to be, I guess I can't blame them.

 

I take another deep sigh and find myself in front of the opening of our office in Grizzco. I step in and find my boss, perched on top of his favourite drawer.

 

Oh wait, didn't I tell you? Our boss is a small radio shaped like a bear from those history books. None of us working for him ever saw him face-to-face. My younger co-workers don't seem to mind this at all, just as long as they get their benefits due. They're actually pretty easy to please with sparkling, trending things, such as gear and tickets for Crusty Sean's food.

 

I'm one of the older people working for Mr. Grizz, my boss. He's actually quite surprised that someone my age would still be willing to work for him. I was accepted almost immediately; virtually anyone who stepped in had very easy screening. In return for that though, our job was definitely tough.

 

We're put out in the field with limited resources and aid to fight these mutated fish called "Salmonids", and there are different kinds of them! It takes a little getting used to, but I'm used to this kind of brawling.

 

As I await orders from my boss, who seemed like he was still shuffling through the papers in whatever office he sits in, I gaze across the room and see my co-worker reading a pocketbook.

 

Ah, it's my co-worker Will! The guy's pretty nice, but also a little intimidating? But not by far. It's probably due to this certain professional air about him and his natural silence. I gaze at his stern-looking, but gentle, dull bronze eyes, that looked down at the pages of his book. His minty green shredded locks rested against his shoulders.

 

I gaze down at the title of the book he was reading; it looked like he was reading a book about Marketing. Well... he was a teacher, after all.

 

I approached him, hoping I didn't disturb his reading. "Hey, Will! Studying up for your new lesson?"  
  


 

"Oh." Will looked up at me and then closed his book. He cracked a small smile at me, as if to greet me. "Hello, Blaze. Yes, I just needed to refresh my memory since I couldn't quite wrap my head around around certain concepts. I was trying to get ideas for a new activity for my students."

 

"Nice." I nodded. "Maybe after this shift, you'll get some new ideas! Like... what about... you're handling Marketing, right? What if you ask them for ideas on how to promote... or market... haha, Grizzco Industries?"

 

"..." Will seemed to give me a blank stare. "... Yeah, no. I'll think about it."

 

... Strange fella. That was a good idea! Well, whatever. You know what I think? I think practicioners like me are still better than people like him who depend on degrees to be educated on this sort of matter.

 

"..."

 

I caught Will staring at me.

 

"... What?" I frowned a little at him.

 

"You look like one of my students when I give them an activity that they don't like."

 

... Shoot. He could see right through me.

 

"Alright, boys." our boss' radio crackled from across the room. It caught both mine and Will's attention, and we both walked closer to it to await instructions. "Blaze. Will. We have a newcomer and I think you two should orient him to this kind of job."

 

"A newcomer?" I raised a brow. "And you want us to orient him?"

 

"Yes. I'm a little busy with my son right now, so I can't tend to him. I'm counting on you two."

 

... Wait, Mr. Grizz had a son?? Okay. That's something I haven't heard of before. Because you see? I always sort of accepted that Mr. Grizz is this tiny talking radio bear, and I'm sure I wasn't alone in that. Thinking that this little radio had a son... huh. So does that mean a tinier bear radio?

 

"So if Mr. Grizz has a son, then it must be Ursa Minor, right?" Will suddenly talked and ruined my train of thoughts.

 

"...? Ursula's a minor?" I asked.

 

"..."

 

"Who's Ursula?" I asked again.

 

"... Never mind." he waved his hand off.

 

Ah, must be one of those jokes only smarty-pants would understand. We both saw a young man, about 17, come in the room through the bathroom door. It looks like he just took a small break before coming over to meet us.

 

"Ah! You must be the trainers assigned to me!" the young man said, as he walked over to greet us.  
  


 

He had fair skin, short blonde hair, his short "layered" bangs covering his forehead. His oblique blue eyes were full of life, and he seemed to have this sort of sweet charm to him. He was shorter than both Will and I, but not by much compared to Will. I guess I was sort of taller than most Inklings, after all.

 

"My name is Kyle! Pleased to meet you." Kyle bowed politely and then reached out for a handshake. Both Will and I obliged, delighted to have such a polite young man to train.

 

"Very well, Kyle." Will spoke up first. "Are you ready to learn how to hunt for some Salmon eggs?"

 

"You bet I am!" Kyle responded energetically.

 

"For today, I'll let you boys pick out which weapons you feel the most comfortable with." Mr. Grizz called out from the radio. "Just so our new recruit gets the hang of the job easier."

 

Huh, this is weird. Why is Mr. Grizz acting so nice to this new recruit? He didn't do that to any of us when we were new to this job. What makes this boy so special, I wonder? I shrugged, at least now we can use any weapons we want to get today's job done.

 

We looked at the arsenal, a room where we stash all our wepons in. I'm actually very comfortable with any kind of weapon, so I randomly pick out what I felt like using at the time. A slosher! Yeah, this should be handy. I've always used a bucket to clean around in the house. Kyle immediately shuffled through and grabbed the dualies. He twirled it around in his hands excitedly, like a little kid with new toys. Cute.

 

I gazed over to Will and he looked like he was having a hard time picking a weapon.

 

Oh, yeah. That's right. He SUCKS at this job but still manages to pull a decent review for him to keep the job. I mean, I've seen kids who are better than him at this. I bet he must have not liked Turf Wars back in the arena so much.

 

I sighed and grabbed a splatterscope for him to use.

 

"All you do is charge, aim, shoot. You don't even need to get close to those Salmonids." I said as I handed it to him. "I bet you our rookie will even be better than you, Mr. Will."

 

"Mr. Will?" Kyle asked curiously.

 

"Yeah, guy's a teacher. Ever see him in your school?"

 

"Nope!"

 

"I never saw him around either." Will shrugged at this. "Blaze, just because I'm a teacher doesn't mean that I know all the squid kids around here. That's like saying that you know all the inhabitants of Inkopolis because you're a worker in a convenience store in the heart of the city."

 

Yeah, I dunno. Will and I always shared some sort of a rocky relationship, but for some reason we stick to each other. Maybe it's because our ages were closer than most of the workers here. Most of the workers here were more or less Kyle's age, it's a wonder why Mr. Grizz doesn't get arrested for child labour. I'm 27, and Will's 30. Definitely way out of these kids' leagues. Haha.

 

Will sighed and examined the splatterscope in his hands. I guess he was resigned to being horrible at this sort of thing. I wonder why he even went into this job in the first place if he was so horrible at it? I never really asked him. Maybe teaching doesn't pay well? I heard it didn't.

 

We went into the dressing room next to get into our uniforms. Kyle doesn't look like he was used to this kind of uniform... he kept on fidgeting around in it as if to get the right feeling. As soon as he got used to it though, he kept on squeaking his work boots... something that I'm used to, but something that irritated Will, apparently.

 

"Young man, kindly stop doing that." Will spoke in what I imagined to be his teacher voice.

 

"..." Kyle stopped. But he smirked and played around with his boots again, to which Will let out an exasperated sigh at.

 

Will simply glared at him with his arms crossed to urge him to stop. Again, Kyle stopped... and it seems like he gave up on making his boots squeak.

 

As we walked to our boat, Kyle started to click his tongue to make some noises. It seems like he was just trying to entertain himself. Will was exasperated once more as he sat on the boat, and I was actually... amused by this display. But I had to do something.

 

"Kyle, you're a new recruit." I said. "If you wanna stay in this kind of job, then you have to leave a good first impression."

 

I'm honestly surprised with how comfortable Kyle had gotten with us, to the point of seemingly exasperating Will on purpose. However, he seemed to listen to me... thankfully.

 

He remained behaved during the trip, as he looked amazed by the wide open ocean. It was... honestly not too much of a pretty sight. It was wide alright, but also it was quite empty, save for a few industrial boats and distant working grounds where the Salmonids spawned.

 

The waves were calm today, I thought. Which was good, because Kyle looks like he hasn't gone on a boat like ours before. It was a rickety old boat, and Kyle seemed quite eager to get in it. Maybe this boy hasn't really gone out much. My family and I ride on these kinds of boats all the time when we have a reunion on the beach!

 

Finally, we made it to our training grounds. Mr. Grizz sent us to the Spawning Grounds to familiarize Kyle with the different terrains we may encounter in our other runs. We super jumped down to our checkpoint and brought out our weapons, ready for some action.

 

"Are you ready, Kyle?" I asked, with my slosher at the ready.

 

"Just follow our lead and we will teach you the different kinds of Salmonids you'll encounter in this run." Will said as he readied his splatterscope. He seemed to hold the heart-shaped pendant dangling around his neck for a while, before handling his weapon more steadily. Huh. Must be a good luck charm. He does this everytime we start a shift.

 

"Yeah, Will did extensive reading on the kinds of Salmonids. You can be sure he knows what he's talking about." I said, but not without delivering the punchline. "But really, I wouldn't be so confident with his field skills."

 

"We sadly cannot ink our own members during a run because we will ink Salmonids. But we can ink them after this run, if you so please." Will glared back at me, sick of my nonsense.

 

Haha. I can see the wrinkles on his face deepen with each day I spend with him on this job. Maybe I should take it easier on the guy.

 

"Anyway, just follow our lead and we should be fine." I said, trying not to stress Will further.

 

"Okay!" Kyle eagerly twirled those dualies again, and awaited for our instructions.


	2. P-"Poppa"??

**Chapter 2: P-"Poppa"??**

 

 

The three Grizzco boys were finally done with their shift. Kyle had gotten the hang of the field, after being tutored by two more experienced Grizzco employees. They taught him how to deal with normal salmonids, as well as boss salmonids. They also taught him how to communicate with team members on the field, since it is very essential they use every ounce of cooperation that they can.

 

They rode the old boat back to their base in Inkopolis, where they dressed up in their normal clothes once more and rested in the lobby before they decided to leave the establishment.

 

"That was so cool!!" Kyle said excitedly, still apparently thrilled with what he had learned that day.

 

"Glad you like it here, then." Blaze smiled at this. "Hey, Will. Looks like I'm a pretty good teacher, too."

 

"Well, I won't deny the possibility." Will shrugged at this, his face quite neutral.

 

"Hey, since we have a rookie around. Why don't we eat out? My treat." Blaze volunteered. Will didn't want to oblige him to treat them, but Kyle seemed to be happy hanging out with his new friends and agreed.

 

Will agreed in the end, so that he could spend more time with the other two. Why not, he asked himself, if it would make the two happy?

 

Now that the shift was officially over, they headed out of the building and basked in the beautiful sunny afternoon. The sky had since dimmed down to a misty orange, with clouds hovering above them and down to the horizon covered by the city's buildings.

 

The three decided to make their way and eat out to Crusty Sean's, thinking it was finally time to use these tickets they had been keeping for themselves.

 

Blaze had easier access to Crusty Sean's tickets since their business is sponsored by the said renown street vendor. They give out tickets to the public once they have availed a certain price with every single-receipt purchase in the convenience store, and it does sell out well!

 

"Yo, Blaze! What's kraken?" Crusty Sean greeted Blaze. It seems they already know each other because of business affiliation. "Those your friends? I've never seen them with you before."

 

"Hey, CS." Blaze greeted back and then he gestured to his friends. "Yeah, they're my co-workers from Grizzco. This is Will, he's a teacher. And this is Kyle, our new recruit! We decided we'd celebrate our new recruit's first day here."

 

"Well now. I'm honoured! Congrats on making it in the team, Kyle!" said the hip shrimp with a finger gun to the new recruit and a wink. "So what'll it be, boys?"

 

Blaze handed over a total of six tickets; three for food, and three for drinks. That way they could fully enjoy their snacks as they hung out the snack bar for a while.

 

"Wow..." Kyle looked amazed with the snacks presented to him. To him, the deep-fried breaded shrimp and the bubble tea sparkled in his eyes.

 

The two got their orders as well, and as unfrequent as it may seem that they hung out in the crustacean's snack bar, their eyes didn't glimmer nearly as enough as this young recruit. Blaze found it endearing, and strange to a degree, while Will didn't seem to give much reaction to it.

 

"Is this your first time eating here?" Crusty Sean noticed Kyle's reaction which delighted him.

 

"Yeah, yeah!" Kyle nodded excitedly. "I never really tasted anything like this..."

 

"It tastes good in mayonnaise." Blaze winked at him and then chomped down on his own treat.

 

"Huh? Pardon me, but it tastes the BEST in tartar sauce." Will pointed out as he dipped his treat in the said condiment.

 

"Mayoneysh." the vermillion-tentacled inkling talked while eating.

 

"Tartar. Sauce. And don't talk with your mouth full." reprimanded the minty green squid.

 

The stall owner only laughed at this and then pointed at the whole assortment of dips and condiments to the right of his customers, just so Kyle could decide for his own. The boys hung out with the warmhearted owner who also joined in their conversations about their lives, as well as how their jobs were doing, and a lot of other things.

 

"So, Blaze. How's Cel?" said Crusty Sean, his eyes squinting as he smiled.

 

Will seemed to smile at this, and Kyle just listened, not knowing the person in question. Blaze slightly blushed, and looked resigned, as he set his drink down to talk.

 

"Same old, same old, my man." Blaze said with a down-spirited tone.

 

The crustacean remembered they had a newcomer, so he decided to explain the situation.

 

"You see, I've known Blaze here for a couple of years now. And through our years as business partners-"

 

"... Dooon't tell the kid." Blaze blushed, but the other decided to just go on with his narrative.

 

"-sometimes he'd come here talking about his childhood friend he's developed heavy feelings for. It's been years! And I'm surprised you still hadn't gotten him!"

 

"Ooh!" Kyle grinned like a little mischievous gremlin, knowing more about his co-worker.

 

"I don't want to be too forward, okay??" Blaze looked flustered.

 

"Man. My dude. My guy. You need to be chill, you know? You need to try and relax... and get out there and propose to him! Serenade him! Give him flowers! Chocolates!"

 

"I did all that and he thought I was just practicing on him for a different date! He giggled and called it a 'friendly fake date'. Seaaaannnnn, what do I doooo..." Blaze whined as he just slumped onto the counter, his head resting on top of his arms hopelessly.

 

"Well... Will, what do you propose he do? If you were Celestino, how would you want his love to be felt?" Crusty Sean seemed invested in helping his business partner in more ways than one...

 

"Give it up, Sean. The only thing that man loves is his job." Blaze looked up with hopeless eyes at his business partner, then they darted to his co-worker.

 

"True. I'm married to my job." Will shrugged. "I'm perfectly fine living alone."

 

"Give it time and Will will be a crazy sea slug man! Like those crazy sea slug ladies!" Kyle said after he sipped from his drink.

 

"You're not talking about Aunt Flow, are ya?" Blaze raised a brow, but he most definitely agreed. The three of them started imagining Will in his apartment, packed with sea slugs, living alone as an old man...

 

"I don't like animals, either." Will said curtly, and then sipped on his drink.

 

"How do you live, man..." Blaze looked a little bothered by this.

 

"Hey, I don't tell you how to live YOUR life." Will sounded quite defensive at this. It seems he hated how people judged his life because it wasn't nearly as "fun" as most people would have it.

 

"Eh hehhh... anyway!" Crusty Sean decided to break the beginning tension between the two adults. "Hmm... there's something I've been meaning to ask, but I didn't know if it was top secret."

 

"...?"

 

The three Grizzco workers listened attentively to the store owner, as if to give him a signal to proceed with his question. The store owner looked awkward and shrunk a little back in his stall, as three pairs of inkling eyes stared at him inquisitively.

 

"W-What are you all looking at me like that for?" said the crustacean.

 

"No, just go on. What is it?" Blaze waved to the others not to stare at the breaded shrimp too intensely.

 

"Well, you see... when I first went into Grizzco for a delivery, I looked for Mr. Grizz and found that he was a talking radio. It was weird. So... uh. So, I had been curious what he looked like, ever since. Did he ever show his face to you?" Crusty Sean sounded really curious.

 

The other three inklings just fell silent. Kyle never gave it much thought, but the other two had always been curious as well.

 

Crusty Sean looked very flustered and seemed eager to dismiss his own question. "Ah! I-I'm sorry it's such a stupid question, of course he must have shown himself to you at some point and-"

 

"No, no, that's a fair point." Will interrupted him to assure him he made a valid point.

 

"We've never really seen what he looked like, but for some reason he could compel us to work for him... even adults like us! I don't know how he does it, really." Blaze gave it some thought. He knew he was always curious about Mr. Grizz, but since nobody would talk to him about it, he often kept it to himself and didn't pay it much thought.

 

"So, what do you guys think Mr. Grizz looks like?" Kyle started a related conversation.

 

"Huh... well, I've always been thinking that with that voice..." Blaze paused and thought of how to phrase his thoughts. "Uh... well... he's huge? And hairy? Whatever hair is. I only read it from the magazines."

 

"I read some books and articles online, and saw information about these so-called 'grizzly bears'. Considering Mr. Grizz has a bear-shaped radio, I had always assumed he was a talking bear, at least seven and a half feet in height, with black, beady eyes." Will expressed his thoughts.

 

"Yeah? I always thought he looked exactly like the radio in real life..." Kyle said, as a young man of simple thoughts.

 

"Maybe he looks like... yeah, I have no ideas." Crusty Sean looked a little sad he wasn't able to jump in the conversation.

 

"You know... speaking of Mr. Grizz, I never thought he had a son??" Blaze opened up the subject again, as he couldn't help but talk about it after the mention of his boss.

 

"That's what I thought so, too. I couldn't imagine him having a son, for some reason." Will looked back at Blaze. He took one last bite from his shrimp treat and set the small aluminum plate it was on aside, to bring his drink closer to him.

 

"You think we'll have a small radio soon?" Blaze looked up at the sky as he thought out loud.

 

"I wonder what his son looks like??" Kyle thought out loud as well, and looked up the sky as well like Blaze.

 

"..." Will just slurped on his drink as he looked at the two other inklings by his side, then looked back at Sean. "Hey uh... I think I need to get going. I have to rest up for tomorrow's lesson. See you the day after tomorrow, I guess?"

 

"Oh, righttt right. See you then, prof." Blaze patted his back and waved goodbye to him. "Be marketable!"

 

"Yes." Will curtly replied once more, used to Blaze's antics by now. "Perhaps I'll try to make an activity out of this. 'Think and illustrate promotional material for Crusty Sean and explain how this would be beneficial for him'."

 

"Aww!" Crusty Sean seemed touched by this. "Say 'hi' to your students for me, prof!"

 

"I will." Will smiled at this and then he waved everyone farewell, then walked away.

 

Kyle started to talk to Blaze when the teacher started to walk away. "Hey, Blaze? All octopus are female! You wanna know why? Because if they're male, then they would be called 'octodi'-"

 

"Octo... what?" Will stopped in his tracks and turned back to face them.

 

"O-OCTODEEEEAAAARRRRR!!" Kyle waved his hands in defense, feeling flustered that Will overheard them.

 

Will did nothing but glare intensely at him and gestured to Kyle that he will be watching him. Kyle looked shaken by this.  
  
  


 

"I'm SORRY! Please don't send me to detention!" Kyle begged him.

 

And after they were all done eating their own treats, it was time for them to all go back to their respective homes.

 

Blaze headed back to his convenience store, to rest on the second floor of the building where his room was. He went inside his room, and sighed as he took off his jacket and rested on the bed after a long day. His room was cluttered with all sorts of litter; from beer bottles to soda cans and snack wrappers, even down to a few empty vape bottles. He told himself he'd fix his room up a bit as soon as he got the time. His eyes darted to the acoustic guitar leaning against his wooden wall adorned with all sorts of band posters, but he told himself he was too tired to play at the moment. He decided to just stare at the small picture frame he has of himself and of his best friend and now love interest, Celestino.

 

He wondered when he'll ever get to confess his feelings properly for him... Celestino, the young man he had laid his eyes on was too preoccupied with his fanclub for Cerise, a rising inkling idol in Inkopolis. He didn't know how to compete against an actual idol...

 

He sighed helplessly at this.

 

Will resigned in his own apartment unit. It was a few blocks away from Inkopolis Square, by the residential area of the city. He opened the door to his unit on the second floor and went right in. Now, he lived alone, and even if people perceive him to be organized because of his profession... the truth was his home was a bit of a mess.

 

His papers were scattered everywhere, his blanket and pillows on his sofa bed were a mess, and there were still dirty plates on his sink waiting to be cleaned. Living alone does have its perks, such that nobody was waiting... or pressuring him to get home, but also it was pretty hard having to do everything by himself.

 

He sighed as he laid down on his sofabed, thinking of what to do with his life next. It had been a while since he actually had any time for himself, and he was just tired. He took his silver heart-shaped pendant off his neck and carefully rested it on the drawer beside his sofabed. His weary eyes slowly fluttered and he eventually drifted off to sleep.

 

The next day went normally for them, with them having a day off from Grizzco. They returned to Grizzco the day after the next, and found themselves in the lobby of Mr. Grizz's base again. They all greeted each other and felt their bond has gotten stronger since that visit to Crusty Sean.

 

"So, how did yesterday go for you guys?" Blaze asked. "I ran the cashier yesterday, as usual."

 

"They seemed to be fine with the activity." Will shrugged with a slight smile.

 

"Yeah, dad had Jenkins pick me up from Crusty Sean yesterday!" Kyle smiled brightly.

 

"Uh... Jenkins?" Blaze sounded curious.

 

"Yeah, our butler! He's been with us since... since my childhood, I think!" Kyle beamed, talking about this as if it was normal.

 

The two adults he was with looked like they just fell silent and they looked at each other. They then looked down at Kyle again and seemed to examine him. They knew something was up with this young lad, but they didn't expect it to be this huge of a deal.

 

"What?" the young man looked a little bothered. He didn't seem to know that not everybody could have afforded butlers.

 

"Nothing, Kyle. That's cool. Glad you got home safely!" Blaze smiled at him and tried not to make him uncomfortable because of social classes. After all, they got along well even without knowing this! So why would they let this affect how they treat each other?

 

They all noticed a young Octoling pass by Mr. Grizz's radio and he started to polish it. That's odd, they never saw this young fellow before? And even odder, they've never seen an octoling up close! They thought only Marina was the only Octoling in Inkopolis, and to be honest, there's still an ongoing debate whether or not she actually is one, or if she's an Inkling dressed like an Octoling.  
  
  


 

None of them seemed to know how to approach the young, dainty-looking Octoling, so they decided to pretend they never saw him.

 

"So guys, I dreamt of what Mr. Grizz looked like? He looked like what Will told me he looked like." the tallest of the three started, as he fixed the small hairclip he had worn.

 

"Called it." Will smirked a little at this.

 

"You know, that's all that I ever thought of last night? Like, part of the reason I wanted to work here was to be able to find out for myself what Mr. Grizz looked like." Kyle let out a small pout.

 

"Well, I don't think anyone has actually seen him." said Will.

 

"Yeah... maybe someday we will." said Blaze, thinking out loud again.

 

The Octoling seemed to approach them quietly with a small smile. "Oh, I know what Mr. Grizz looks like. He's my poppa!"  
  
  


The other three fell in hard silence, as they seemed to have gone in extreme shock hearing this from the youth. They couldn't help but just stare at the young Octoling with a stone-hard gaze, not being able to process their thoughts coherently.  
  
  


 

_''P-POPPA'?? T-This is Mr. Grizz's son?! This was who he talked about?!'_ Blaze thought to himself.

 

 _'I must know what Mr. Grizz looks like. I MUST.'_ thought Will.

 

 _'Dudes, Mr. Grizz's son is cute...'_ thought Kyle, but he couldn't quite say it out loud for obvious reasons.

 

The three seemed to snap out of their own trances and then ended up staring at each other. They huddled close together and turned away from the Octoling, who was left puzzled by their sudden actions.

 

"Okay, guys... so does this mean we're closer to solving the mystery?" whispered Blaze to his colleagues.

 

"I couldn't be sure about that." Will responded. "However, I think it's safe to assume that Mr. Grizz is at least part Octarian."

 

"'At least'?? Dude, his son's a full Octarian!" Kyle whispered as well and then let out a short glance at the Octoling, who just waved at them with a smile. "That must mean Mr. Grizz is an Octarian!"

 

The three continued to debate amongst themselves, and the Octoling just shrugged at this and continued polishing the small radio that transmitted Mr. Grizz's voice.

 

"You know, how does he know what we're doing?" whispered Blaze. "It's creepy. He's just a radio but he seems to know what's going on."

 

"Uh. Security cameras were invented for a reason, Blaze. Don't you work in a convenience store?" Will replied to this.

 

"Ahem. Is there a secret conference I should know about, boys?"

 

It was a familiar voice that crackled from the very familiar radio they took orders from. The Octoling was holding the radio in his arms and just tilted his head at the three employees who began acting strangely just moments ago, all of a sudden.

 

"Mr. Grizz!" Blaze spoke up for the three of them. Will stood up straight as well, and Kyle couldn't help but look around for security cameras littered all over the place.

 

"Anyway, this is my son, Emuna." Mr. Grizz seemed to dismiss the matter. "He's the one I told you about yesterday, so I couldn't tutor Kyle over there. I was training Emuna to work with my employees this time around since he often just works with me."

 

"Wait... you collect salmon eggs too?" Will could not help but raise a question.

 

"Did you think I was dropping all the work on my employees?"

 

The three just stared at each other, seeming to unanimously and silently agree. They just looked at the radio again and awaited orders, as it was such an awkward moment.

 

"Anyway, I think I'll let you handle my son. Blaze, you're a strong lad. I'm sure that you can back up an entire team during your runs." said the crackling radio.

 

"My name is Emuna. It's nice to meet you." Emuna bowed politely, his voice as tender as his demeanor. "I hope I will be a valuable asset to your team."

 

"For the next couple of runs, I'll allow the four of you to stick to one team and familiarize yourself with each other. As his father, I think the three of you will be a good influence to my son. I mean... you should be, or I'll fire you." Mr. Grizz sounded serious with his trademark raspy voice.

 

"Of course, Mr. Grizz." Blaze responded without getting shaken.

 

"Alright. Good luck, boys. I've got work for you and your boat is due to leave in five minutes. Go." Mr. Grizz directed them, and they went off to get dressed and were given their supplied weapons of the shift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still trying to warm up to writing again after not doing so in a looong time! Here you go, I hope you like this chapter! Emuna finally makes his debut appearance!

**Author's Note:**

> So finally I get to write a fanfic in a long time. Due to tons of character development and world-building behind the scenes, I am pretty confident in writing this fanfic that I had been planning for a few months now.
> 
> Chapter 2 will come soon! Thanks for reading and stay tuned!


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